


Flower talk

by Shaalara



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Another quick from an image I saw about flowers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:36:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6409096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shaalara/pseuds/Shaalara
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Zelda and Link defeat Ganondorf, Hyrule organises a festival to celebrate, but there is one person who mourns him in silence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flower talk

He found them. Acacia blossoms were finally in front of him.

Flowers were filling his basket. He would nearly have them all.

He looked up to observe the vast flower field in which he was standing. It was rumored throughout Hyrule that every single flower discovered by man bloomed in the magical land, and Link was intending to find all of the ones he needed.  

‘Where is the hero?’ asked a servant while cleaning up the princess’ personal affairs after preparing her.

‘He’s gone to get flowers.’ Answered Zelda, tweaking with her crown in order to get it perfectly straight.

‘Flowers?’ said the servant, surprised. ‘But the festival in only hours away! Shouldn’t he be preparing for his big moment?’

The princess lowered her hands, losing the small trace of a smile that she had while thinking of the festival. ‘Just leave him be. I’m sure he’ll be back in time for the festival.’ _Though I’m sure he would rather skip it._ She added in her head.

It had been a week since the big battle. Since she and Link had finally defeated Ganondorf and brought light to Hyrule once more. She could still hear his last words, though they weren’t directed at her. The wind was howling in the pain next to the castle, causing the already deceased body of the Gerudo king to fall to the ground even more easily.

Link didn’t try to catch his fall.

He didn’t try to help him up after it.

He didn’t touch the man at all after pushing the master sword through his heart. At least not while she was near him.

She tried to ask if he was okay, but she only got a smile as an answer, the universal sign to not ask any more questions.

After taping him on the shoulder, she left him with the body. She didn’t dare to turn around and see how he would act when he didn’t have to hold back. That was Ganondorf’s role. And he was gone.

Link had left early in the morning, bearing only a single basket and a book on flower language with multiple marked pages. She knew where he was going, and she didn’t ask any questions. She simply reminded him of the time at which the festival would start.

He came back half an hour before the stated time, throwing the entirety of the serving group into panic. His boots and legs covered in dirt, dew and bits of flowers, the group of servant hurried through his chambers to find a suitable change of clothes while some cleaned him up as fast as they could. Inside the panic, Zelda came next to him to pick up the basket that was now filled with flowers.

‘I’ll put these in your room.’ She said.

The hero nodded in appreciation before he was taken away to be dressed and groomed.

He came out of the palace just before the deadline to find Zelda riding her grey horse in ceremonial clothes.

‘You look nice in those clothes.’ She said, smiling. It was refreshing to see the hero in something else than the hero’s tunic. The hero’s ceremonial clothes were still green, as it was the color of the chosen hero, but these clothes were highly impractical for combat, showing a long black cape, and a golden breast plate.

The hero shrugged at the comment. He didn’t like unpractical clothing, especially knowing that it would require him to change before doing what he had planned that night. He climbed unto Epona, sighing at the thought of what he would have to endure for the next hour.

‘Ready?’ asked Zelda, clearly knowing how much Link didn’t want to be here at the moment.

Link nodded, then taped Epona with his heels, making her move forward, closely followed by the princess.

As they rode into the main part of Hyrule Castle town, they were greeted by bright festival lights and a cheering crowd. The entirety of Hyrule had assembled to celebrate the heroes which brought down the evil king and returned peace to the kingdom. The unending cheers seemed to block out even Link’s own thoughts and gave him a slight headache.

When he rode by some more curious onlookers, he was bombarded by questions.

_“How did you defeat Ganondorf?”_

_“What did the evil king look like?”_

_“How did it feel to finally be able to kill him?”_

He tried to ignore them, gripping his reins harder to distract himself with pain. This wasn’t what he wanted to hear. Not right now.

Zelda stretched out her right hand, placing it on top of Link’s. She looked at him with an understanding look, reassuring him that the parade would soon be over.

Link straightened his back. What the people needed right now was confidence. Confidence that peace was coming, that they would be safe, that they could put their trust in him and the princess to lead Hyrule in a better direction. His personal feelings had to come second.

He smiled, he waved, he blocked his ears. Until the horses left the city, he acted the part of the proud hero that everybody wanted him to be, but the time after the festival was his alone.

‘You’ve done well.’ Said the princess. ‘You can go now, I will take care of the rest.’

Link nodded in appreciation then headed back to his quarters in the palace. Changing into more practical clothes and taking only his basket, he headed into the forest near the castle.

He took the smallest path to the right, one which you may not notice unless you knew the forest very well. It lead deep into the forest, where people seldom came. He started to remember how he went through this same path just a week before.

When Zelda had left him alone, he had fallen on his knees, unable to move forward.

He couldn’t remember if he had cried. He couldn’t remember much of the few hours he had probably spent there. He only noticed the passing of time when the first wolf started to cry out in the night.

He was still on his knees, and Ganondorf was still dead in front of him. He remembered how heavy the body was in his arms, and how he struggled to get him to fit in the small forest path.

At the end of the path was a small clearing. In the center of it now stood a small pile of rocks. It wasn’t anything flashy. Nothing that any passer-by would notice as being important. Still, it was fine for Link. As long as it was special for him, it was fine.

He sat down in front of it, placing his basket on his left side. One by one, he placed down the flowers, concentrating on the meaning of each one.

He couldn’t speak, but flowers could. They could express his feelings in a way that he would never be able to, and he was grateful for it.

When his basket emptied, he looked up to the sky. Was he watching? Though his body was now buried under the one who led to his demise, would his feelings be able to reach him?

In the distance he could still hear the crowd cheering. Filled with lights, the town was joyful, while he was mourning in the darkness of the night. Still, he didn’t mind mourning alone. These kind of intimate feelings had only ever been shared with the Gerudo King, and he was still at his side.

Zelda escaped the festival before the end, as it seemed to be able to go on until the early hours of the morning. She passed by Link’s room as she walked towards hers.

Curious to see whether he was back from his visit, she opened his door slightly to find an empty room. The hero would probably only come back in the morning.

She noticed the book that Link had borrowed from her. She had already guessed what pages he had marked, but decided to flick through them anyway.

_Acacia Blossom: Concealed Love_

_Arbutus: Thee only do I love._

_Pink Camelia: Longing for you._

There were many other flowers, each with a similar meaning. _My heart aches for you. Love. I Can’t Live without you. Thankfulness._

She could see Link in her mind. Carefully placing each flower in front of the improvised grave. Concentrating on each one and its meaning. Helplessly longing for his feelings to be heard.

Was he crying as he did?

She couldn’t comfort him, she wasn’t the one who should, but she could welcome him back, and help him build the world that Ganon gave his life for.

Putting down the book, a flower petal brushed against her hand. Lifting up the piece of paper which covered the flower, she recognized it from when she had carried Link’s basket too his room. She knew what the small flower meant. It amazed her how such a small flower could carry such a powerful message.

_Cyclamen- Good-bye._

She didn’t know if Link would ever be able to place this flower in front of Ganon, but until he became able to, she would be with him, in the kingdom that they would create together.

 

 

 


End file.
